Yep, 'Cowboys & Aliens;' Git over it
Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) learning to use his alien bracelet. (Universal Pictures)
Cowboys & Aliens
Running time: 118 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 (Intense sequences of Western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference)
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Whoa, hold on a minute Western movie purists.
Before you get a burr under your saddle because Old West gunslingers take on high-tech aliens from outer-space in the sci-fi Western "Cowboys & Aliens," you should know that uneasy genre saddle bag-fellows have gotten into dust-ups before.
It's been a while, but left-handed outlaw Billy the Kid took on none other than Dracula himself in 1966 in a horror-Western titled "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula." That same year, the West got a little wilder with another odd pairing. How many of you remember "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter"?
I didn't think so.
"Cowboys & Aliens" is a genre hybrid. Granted, it's a far-fetched one, or at least it appears to be until you realize that in fiction there are no real boundaries except the limit of one's imagination.
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, who concocted the comic book this film is based on in 1997, obviously can go off the usual grid when it comes to storytelling.
And so can director Jon Favreau (The "Iron Man" franchise) and, for that matter, co-stars Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, who draws top billing. In today's ruthless Hollywood, James Bond trumps Han Solo apparently.
Set in New Mexico Territory circa 1875, "Cowboys & Aliens" begins with a jolt. A camera pan across the dust and scraggly brush soon reveals a startled former outlaw named Jake Lonergan (Craig). Jake awakes from some sort of unexplained trauma that has rendered him with no memory, but with some sort of newfangled bracelet that, to say the least, "ain't from around here."
Jake staggers into the saloon in the former boom town of Absolution (gotta love those town names in Westerns). Before he can enjoy a few shots of whiskey, he's flirted with by a mysterious alluring lady named Ella (Olivia Wilde of "The Change-Up"), arrested and thrown in the pokey.
But not for long. As the title clearly states, the Wild West is about to get a little wilder. Strange lights illuminate the night sky, and before the citizens -- good and bad hombres alike -- know what's hitting them, several of the townsfolk are lassoed from flying machines and carried off into the darkness.
In traditional Westerns, this would be the moment when a posse is formed. Heck, that even happens when things get down and dirty (and thirsty) in "Rango."
In this one, though, the supposedly good guys, led by ruthless rancher Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford), form an alliance with the mysterious stranger (Craig) and some equally ravaged Indians to square off against the otherworldly marauders from up yonder somewhere.
A gaggle of screenwriters throw every cliché in the book into this thing. Dolarhyde, the toughest guy in these here parts, has a bully/wimp for a son (Paul Dano). Nat (Adam Beach), the rancher's No. 1 hand, of course displays all the traits the old man would want in a son.
As weird as all this is, however, the production value is top notch. The special effects live up to their title, director Favreau stirs the off-kilter genre melting pot with gusto and the acting gets the job done in all areas. I do wish Ford had backed off just a little from his over-gruffness a little earlier than he did, though.
Think of "Cowboys & Aliens" as that odd looking, but bright and shiny dangerous ride way back at the edge of the carnival.
Then strap yourself in for a wild ride and go kick some serious alien hiney.
Before you get a burr under your saddle because Old West gunslingers take on high-tech aliens from outer-space in the sci-fi Western "Cowboys & Aliens," you should know that uneasy genre saddle bag-fellows have gotten into dust-ups before.
It's been a while, but left-handed outlaw Billy the Kid took on none other than Dracula himself in 1966 in a horror-Western titled "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula." That same year, the West got a little wilder with another odd pairing. How many of you remember "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter"?
I didn't think so.
"Cowboys & Aliens" is a genre hybrid. Granted, it's a far-fetched one, or at least it appears to be until you realize that in fiction there are no real boundaries except the limit of one's imagination.
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, who concocted the comic book this film is based on in 1997, obviously can go off the usual grid when it comes to storytelling.
And so can director Jon Favreau (The "Iron Man" franchise) and, for that matter, co-stars Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, who draws top billing. In today's ruthless Hollywood, James Bond trumps Han Solo apparently.
Set in New Mexico Territory circa 1875, "Cowboys & Aliens" begins with a jolt. A camera pan across the dust and scraggly brush soon reveals a startled former outlaw named Jake Lonergan (Craig). Jake awakes from some sort of unexplained trauma that has rendered him with no memory, but with some sort of newfangled bracelet that, to say the least, "ain't from around here."
Jake staggers into the saloon in the former boom town of Absolution (gotta love those town names in Westerns). Before he can enjoy a few shots of whiskey, he's flirted with by a mysterious alluring lady named Ella (Olivia Wilde of "The Change-Up"), arrested and thrown in the pokey.
But not for long. As the title clearly states, the Wild West is about to get a little wilder. Strange lights illuminate the night sky, and before the citizens -- good and bad hombres alike -- know what's hitting them, several of the townsfolk are lassoed from flying machines and carried off into the darkness.
In traditional Westerns, this would be the moment when a posse is formed. Heck, that even happens when things get down and dirty (and thirsty) in "Rango."
In this one, though, the supposedly good guys, led by ruthless rancher Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford), form an alliance with the mysterious stranger (Craig) and some equally ravaged Indians to square off against the otherworldly marauders from up yonder somewhere.
A gaggle of screenwriters throw every cliché in the book into this thing. Dolarhyde, the toughest guy in these here parts, has a bully/wimp for a son (Paul Dano). Nat (Adam Beach), the rancher's No. 1 hand, of course displays all the traits the old man would want in a son.
As weird as all this is, however, the production value is top notch. The special effects live up to their title, director Favreau stirs the off-kilter genre melting pot with gusto and the acting gets the job done in all areas. I do wish Ford had backed off just a little from his over-gruffness a little earlier than he did, though.
Think of "Cowboys & Aliens" as that odd looking, but bright and shiny dangerous ride way back at the edge of the carnival.
Then strap yourself in for a wild ride and go kick some serious alien hiney.
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